Mashable

Warning: The images in this post may be considered disturbing to some readers.

William “Doc” Carver, an expert marksman with his own traveling Wild West show, claimed that he got the idea for a horse diving show in 1881 when a horse he was riding over a partially collapsed bridge leapt into the river below.

Soon after, Carver developed an act where a rider and horse would dive headlong into a pool of water from a platform 40 feet in the air. The risky feat drew huge crowds wherever it was performed.

The risk was real, both for horse and rider. On Feb. 17, 1907, 18-year-old rider Oscar Smith was killed in a dive. (The horse survived.)

Sonora Webster joined Carver’s show in 1924 as a horse jumper, and eventually married Carver’s son. After the creator's death in 1927, they took the show on the road, finally settling it as a main attraction on Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where it was wildly successful.

In 1931, Sonora was permanently blinded by the impact from a botched jump. She was hardly discouraged, though. Her blindness simply enhanced the spectacle of the show as she continued diving for another decade.

Concerns over animal wellbeing caused a decrease in show popularity in the second half of the 20th century.

Still, the horse diving show continued into the late 1970s before being shut down because of the decaying condition of Steel Pier.

The pier reopened as the Trump Steel Pier in 1992. A “diving mule” show was opened there two years later, but soon ended due to concerns about the animals’ well-being, thank goodness.

c. 1943

A trained horse dives on a ranch in Plainview, Texas.

Image: Underwood Archives/Getty Images

1953

A woman walks a diving horse on the beach at Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Image: Peter Stackpole/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

We were the stars of the Boardwalk. Everybody had to see the diving horse. That was what everybody remembered. We were a class act.

Arnette French

1953

With the help of a tempting carrot, a trainer encourages a horse to dive.

Image: Peter Stackpole/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

1953

Image: Peter Stackpole/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

1953

Image: Peter Stackpole/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

1953

Image: Peter Stackpole/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

1953

Image: Peter Stackpole/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

c. 1945

Image: Frederic Lewis/Getty Images

c. 1945

Image: Frederic Lewis/Getty Images

Once you were on the horse, there really wasn't much to do but hold on. The horse was in charge.